Abstract

The past and ongoing structural change in Swedish agriculture has led to an increasingnumber of large-scale farms. The biological factors associated with large-scale farmingoperations may cause increasing variability, risk and reduced yields due to sub-optimal timingand management of field operations. The theory of economies of scale suggests that largescaleproduction may benefit from lower costs due to scale efficiencies. Thus, large-scalefarms may face cost reductions in terms of long term inputs factors, e.g. agriculturalmachinery. However, previous studies show that due to the complexity of farming operationsincluding biological factors the timeliness costs may exceed the possible scale induced costsreductions in terms of machinery and labour.The relationship between farm size and efficiency, profitability and productivity has beenextensively researched. However, the previous literature is indecisive in terms of thisrelationship, presenting various results. Some authors argue that empirical findings supportingeconomic benefits, in terms of efficiency, for large-scale farming are rare. Furthermoreprevious literature raises management as an important factor when examining the productivityand efficiency of growth in agricultural firms. Moreover some authors claim that managementhas not been included in many studies and that management might be a more important factorthan technical efficiency. This study examines the relationship between productivity and farmsize. Furthermore, management in terms of firm growth is reviewed. Finally this thesisreviews the use of information technology and precision agriculture tools to aid farmmanagement, and how this can be used in large-scale farming operations.A mixed method case study is used in this thesis. The productivity is examined by the use ofhistorical farm management data while interviews are conducted to gain a detailedunderstanding of management and the growth process of the case farms. The results areanalysed with the resource-based view. This implies that the firms competitive advantages arereviewed based on the firms productive resource.The study reveals that there tends to be a negative correlation between farm size andproductivity for the case farms, suggesting that farm growth decreases productivity.Moreover, management, administrative work and the employees of the firm have beenidentified as an important factors for firm growth, where as, machinery and labour is notdecisive for productivity. The study has found that the use of information technology andprecision agriculture tools do not explain differences in either productivity or costs ofmanagement and administrative work.